EU: 2025 Potato Harvest Reached 57 Million Tonnes, Commission Data Show
Key takeaways
- 57 million tonnes of EU potatoes in 2025, up from 51 Mt
- 1.487 million ha of EU potato area in 2025, from 1.384 Mha
- 1.421 million ha projected for the EU potato area in 2026
- 8.48 million tonnes of fresh potatoes traded inside the EU
Why it matters
- For farmers
- Do not over-react to current high prices; the 2025 surplus shows how fast area expansion can crash the market.
- For traders
- Use the 2025 baseline of 57 Mt to judge how far 2026 supply will fall; expect lower EU export availability this season.
- For investors
- Treat the swing from surplus to shortage as a sign of strong price volatility in EU potatoes over the next two seasons.
60-second summary
New European Commission figures put last year's EU potato crop, seed included, at 57 million tonnes, some 6 million tonnes above 2024. Germany led with about 14 million tonnes, ahead of France at about 10 and the Netherlands at 9. Area expanded to 1.487 million hectares, which helps explain why prices collapsed and many potatoes went unsold. For 2026 the Commission expects area to shrink to 1.421 million hectares, and drought has since cut yields in the main northern producing countries. Trade data show how integrated the market is, with 8.48 million tonnes moving between member states and about 710,000 tonnes exported beyond the EU, including to Côte d'Ivoire and Indonesia. The overview itself was not directly accessible, and the Commission area projection for Germany is above the latest national estimate, so the 2026 numbers should be treated as provisional.
The European Union harvested 57 million tonnes of potatoes in 2025, including seed potatoes. This is up from 51 million tonnes in 2024. The figures come from a European Commission potato market overview, based on Eurostat data and reported on 22 September.
Germany remained the largest producer, with about 14 million tonnes. France followed with about 10 million tonnes and the Netherlands with 9 million tonnes.
German federal statistics confirm the German figure. They put the 2025 crop at 13.9 million tonnes, with a yield of 459.6 dt/ha.
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Area up in 2025, down in 2026
The EU potato area reached 1.487 million hectares in 2025. In 2024, it was 1.384 million hectares.
For 2026, the Commission projects 1.421 million hectares. This includes 280,000 hectares in Germany and 177,000 hectares in France.
The large 2025 crop led to low prices and many unsold potatoes. As a result, many growers cut area for 2026. Drought and heat then reduced yields in much of North-West Europe.
Trade and world context
Intra-EU trade in fresh potatoes totalled 8.48 million tonnes in 2025. Exports outside the EU reached about 710,000 tonnes. The main destinations included Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia and Switzerland.
World potato production reached about 390 million tonnes in 2024, according to the overview. Between 2017 and 2024, China produced on average 32% of the world crop. India produced 19% and the EU 18%.
Why it matters
The 2025 figure shows how large the last EU crop was. It explains the price collapse of 2025–2026 and the area cuts that followed. With a much smaller 2026 harvest now expected in the main producing countries, the EU market is swinging from surplus to shortage within one year. Buyers and growers can use these data as a baseline for contract and planting decisions.
The Commission projection for German area is higher than the latest German estimate. The German statistics office now puts the 2026 potato area at 268,300 hectares.
Photo: A potato field in Nakkila, Finland (illustrative). kallerna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
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What next
Eurostat and national statistics offices will publish first 2026 crop estimates in the coming months. They are expected to show a much smaller EU crop.
Sources
- European Commission (CIRCABC) — Potato market overview, September 2026 — https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/a6df5bd5-efdf-40cc-a42d-8292eedd0201/library/20e25999-05e6-43e5-8470-ba79f87c41e7/details?open=true
- FreshPlaza.it — Nel 2025 il raccolto di patate Ue ha raggiunto 57 milioni di tonnellate — https://www.freshplaza.it/article/9874763/nel-2025-il-raccolto-di-patate-ue-ha-raggiunto-57-milioni-di-tonnellate/
- BMEL-Statistik — Kartoffelernte 2025 (DE 13.9 Mt) — https://www.bmel-statistik.de/landwirtschaft/ernte-und-qualitaet/kartoffelernte
- ОДИН ИСТОЧНИК
Linked in this material
- Country
- European Union
- Companies
- European Commission; Eurostat
